“The IT sector is the most promising in terms of growth and development,” Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh stated. “Pakistan is only beginning to unfold its IT potential.” He further emphasized Pakistan's unique position, noting, "Our geography lends us both geopolitical and geoeconomic significance, and our country has prospered over the past 78 years despite various challenges.”
Pakistan Showcases Thriving IT Potential at Landmark US Tech Investment Conference
By Elaine Pasquini
Washington, DC: The Embassy of Pakistan drew an impressive turnout of IT firms, tech executives, business leaders, and entrepreneurs to its final session of the "Pakistan-US Tech Investment Conference 2025," held on June 19. The day-long event followed the earlier successful forums in Dallas and New York City geared to highlight Pakistan’s growing promise and potential in the information technology sector poised to attract foreign investment.
The conference was a collaborative effort by the Embassy of Pakistan, the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) under the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT), the Ministry of Commerce (through its trade officers), P@SHA (Pakistan’s sole trade association for IT and IT-enabled services), and The Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs (OPEN) Global.
In his opening remarks, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, welcomed participants, underscoring the conference as a testament to Pakistan’s IT potential and its ambitious future.
“The IT sector is the most promising in terms of growth and development,” the ambassador stated. “Pakistan is only beginning to unfold its IT potential.” He further emphasized Pakistan's unique position, noting, "Our geography lends us both geopolitical and geoeconomic significance, and our country has prospered over the past 78 years despite various challenges.”
Highlighting the strong prospects for collaboration between Pakistan and the United States, Ambassador Sheikh stressed the importance of Pakistan's young, talented population and the profitability of its market for US investors. “Pakistan’s IT market offers profit to investors,” he said.
“With a thriving 65 percent of the population of young people below the age of 30, Pakistan and the US have every reason to collaborate in the most futuristic domain, that is, IT. Let’s come together as two mega countries and make it happen for benefit of the whole world,” he urged.
Ambassador Sheikh also announced an upcoming video series designed to share the success stories of Pakistani tech entrepreneurs, aiming to inspire the nation's youth to pursue their dreams in the startup ecosystem. “Pakistani talented youth are good at startups, brimming with hope to make a breakthrough. They need US mentoring, advisory and finance towards commercial viability of their products,” he observed.
The conference also featured remarks from Abu Bakar, CEO of Pakistan Software Export Board; Sajjad Syed, Chairman of P@SHA; Tariq Khan, president of OPEN Global; and Naveed Shirwani. All speakers echoed the promising future of Pakistan’s tech industry and commended the Embassy, as well as the Consulate Generals in New York, along with Houston’s efforts under the ambassador’s stewardship in orchestrating the three successive events in different states.
Throughout the day, attendees were engaged with various presentations from innovative IT firms showcasing their products and participated in insightful fireside chat sessions where IT experts provided comprehensive insights into various technology initiatives in Pakistan’s IT landscape and shared profitable experiences.
The ambassador expressed a firm resolve to bolster Pakistan’s economy through IT sector expansion, envisioning this important thriving industry as a cornerstone of the 250 million-strong nation’s economic security.
In his concluding remarks, Ambassador Sheikh thanked all participants and collaborating organizations for contributing to the conference's success. He reiterated the Embassy's commitment to continuing this series in different states across the US.
(Elaine Pasquini is a freelance journalist. Her reports appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and Nuze.Ink.)
